Toy.



D. P. CLARK.

TOY.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 9, 1913.

Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

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RITQRNEYS D. P. CLARK.

TOY.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 9.1913.

Patented Seps. 2.2, 1914.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 22, 191ML.,

Application led July 9, 1913. Serial No. 778,170.

To all whom t may concern: l

Be it known that I, DAVID P. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing' at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented' certain new and useful Improvements in Toys ofwhich the following is aspecification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to toys and more particularly to wheeled toys of the self pro-l pelled type. l

rIhe object of the invention is to provide a spring-propelled toy capable of traveling a long distance without lthe use of an excessively large spring; and further,.to constructthe toy after the design of an automobilewith the winding crank at the front.

To these ends it is a further object of the invention to provide the toy with a spring extending longitudinally thereof and so mounted and arranged as to develop a automobile.

minimum amount of friction and to exert a large amount of power upon the driving axle; and which is adapted to be wound or compressed by means of a cranky at the front end of the toy.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is `almttom, plan View of a toy embodying my invention; Fig. 2is a longitudinal, sectional view of a slightly modified form of the invention; Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional' View taken longitudinally of a toy embodying the invention, showing the mechanism partly in elevation and partly in secticn, and Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal Section showing the driving mechanism partly in section and partly in elevation.

In Fig'. 1 of the accompanying drawings' I have illustrated one form of the invention, while in Fig. 2 I have shown a second v form of the invention. In both forms it -will be understood that the toy may be of any suitable character and may represent any type of wheeled vehicle. In both of the forms here shown, however, I have chosen to make the toy in the form of an .Referring first to Figfl the toy comprises a frame 1 mounted upon four ground wheels, the`front wheels, 2, `being steering wheels, while the rear wheels, 3, are driving. wheels. and are rigidly secured te anV axle 4. This axle is journaled' in the side members of the frame 1 and may be driven invany suitable manner, preferably by securing thereto a pinion 5 coperating with a driving member or gear 6 having a hollow hub 7 journaled in the transverse frame member 8. Extending longitudinally tothe frame is a shaft or guide rod 9. At its rear end this shaft is loosely mounted in the hollow hub 7 of the driving gear 6 and at its forward end is rotatably mounted in the transverse member -10 of the frame 1 and projects beyond the said frame member, the forwardly projecting portion being adapted to receive a rotating device, such as a crank 11. Means are also provided for holding theshaft against rotation in one direction. Preferably, this means comprises a ratchet wheel 12 rigidly secured to the shaft near its forward end and coperating with a pawl 13 mounted on the frame. Coiled about the -shaft 9 is a spring 14 which is connected' at one end to the shaft, preferably by securing itv to the ratchet wheel 12 and is connected at its other end to the hub of the gear 6. In this form of toy I Vhave also provided the rear axle with a detent to prevent its rotation in one direction, such as a ratchet wheel 15 coperating with a pawl 16, the paw] having a projecting portion or handle 17 extending` beyond the frame of the toy where it can be manually actuated to release the axle. From the description it will be apparent that by actuating the crank 11 the spring 14 can be wound about the shaft 9 4and the pawl and ratchet-16, and 15, will hold the axle against rotation during the winding action and when the winding is completedthe spring will be held against unwinding at its forward end by the pa-wl and ratchet 13 and 12. When it is desired to operate the toy the spring is released by actuating the handle 17 to releasev the axle from the detent, thus permitting the driving member or gear 6 to rotate independently of the shaft 9 and transmit the power of the spring to the driving axle. By means of this construction a very powerful spring may be mounted within the toy without consuming any considerable amount of space and' by allowing the driving member to rotate independently of the support for the spring and of all other parts connected with the spring, the friction is reduced to a minimum and the power is applied directly to the driving member so that a high degrec of eciency is obtained inthe toy. In

actual practice-it develops a power greatly in excess of thepower developed by other spring toys of the same size.

In the form of the toy shown in Fig. -2 I have shown a different arrangement of the parts without departing from the principlemeshing with n@ gear 25 which is rigidly ing the end of the sprin secured Yt6 one end of a rod or shaft 26 which is journaled at its rear end in a supplemental frame member 27, which frame member also supports one end of the pinion 24. The opposite end portion of the rod 26 has secured thereto a disk 28 and the end extends into the -hollow end of a springsupporting lshaft or rod 29, the forward end of whichis'journaled in a frame mem'- ber'l30 and extends beyond the end of the, body of thetoy where it is provided with a clutch member or other device 31 to connect it with a rotating device or crank. The shaft 29 also has secured thereto aA detent,such as a ratchet wheel 32, which cooperates with :a pawl 33. A spring. 34vis coiled about the shaft 29, connected at :one end with the ratchet 32 and 'at the other end with the shaft. 26,- preferably by secur- In this manner substantial y the same effects are secured as are secured by the form shown 'in Fig. l1'. The shaft 26 is loosely journaled and offers very little resistance to the expansion of the spring and mas-A mueli as the rodvonA which the spring is mounted is notconnected with the driving member the frictional resistance between the spring and the shaft is reduced to a mini- '.mum and this small resistance does not interfere with the rotationv Aof the driving shaft. In 4this form of the toy I have not shown any detent in the rear axle, it being designed to prevent the rotation of the driving wheel by means of the hand that holds thetoy while it is being wound. Obviously, however, the detent could be applied to this form as well as the form shown in Fig. 1.

While I have shown and described two ,embodiments of vmy invention it will be unt0 the disk 28.-

I-Iaving thus `fully describedmyL in'venJ tion, what I claimas new and desir-etc secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a toy, the combination, with an axle, and wheels secured thereto, of a shaft extending longitudinally of said toy, a driving member mounted at the end of said shaft, rotatable relatively thereto and op eratively connected ywith said axle, a detent mounted at the other end of said shaft to hold it against rotation in one directi'oma Ispring coiled about said shaft and connected at its opposite ends with saiddriv-v ing member and said shaft, respectively,\andl means to rotate said shaft.

2. :In av toy, the combination with an axle and wheels therefor, of a rotatable shaft ex'- tending longitudinally of said toy, a spring coiled about said shaft, means for winding said spring, a detent to hold one end of said spring. against unwinding movement and a driving connection between the other end of said spring and said axle, said connection comprisina shaftA extending lon" gitudinally of sai .spring and disconnected rom the first-mentioned shaft.

3. In a toy, the combination, with an axle and wheels secured thereto, of driving gearing connected with said wheels, a shaft' connected with said driving gearing and extending longitudinally of said toy, a coiled spring extending longitudinally of said toy and connected at one end to said shaft and having means at the other end thereof for winding the same and for holding the same against unwinding movement, and a su port for said spring extending longitul inally thereof. f 7

4. In a toy, the combinatiii'fwth an axle, and wheels vsecured thereto, of driv ing gearingconnected 'with said wheels', a

shaft connected with said driving and extendin shaft and having its other endrotatably supported, a springcoiled about said second shaft and having one end secured to thev first-mentioned shaft and having a winding I device connected with' the other end .thereof, and vmeans to hold said ,last-mentioned end of said spring against unwinding move-I ment. v

I n testimon whereof, I aix my signature 1n presence o two witnesses.-

DAVID P. CLARK.l

Witnesses: y

EDWARD L. REED, V HARRm'r L. HAMMAKER. 

